1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cleaning devices and enclosures therefor. More specifically, the present invention relates to a paint roller cleaning device that separates the user from the process to avoid messy or excessive cleaning thereof.
The use of paint roller tools for applying paint has become increasingly popular for individuals and for contractors. Painting with a roller is substantially easier and faster than painting with a brush, especially on large, flat surfaces such as walls and ceilings. In addition, it is generally recognized that relatively less skill is required to produce comparable results using a paint roller device when painting. Paint rollers are comprised of a handle device and a rotating assembly that supports a removable brush. The brush is adapted to rotate and apply a layer of paint as the tool is advanced along a surface. The removable brush comprises a cylindrical tube with an outer layer of fabric, fibrous or plastic material capable of absorbing and distributing paint in a rolling process.
After use, the paint roller can be cleaned for reuse or discarded depending on its cost, the given situation or user preferences. Many paint rollers can be expensive to replace, which justifies the effort required to clean and reuse the roller brush. Cleaning typically involves either soaking the paint roller in a suitable paint solvent or, in the case of a typical homeowner using water-soluble latex paints, washing the paint roller in a sink with soap and water. Cleaning a paint roller can present a messy and time-consuming operation that can lead to paint splattering. The splattering of paint can stain or damage clothes and spread paint onto articles immediately in vicinity to the cleaning environment. Casual cleaning of the roller further may not remove all the residual paint from the roller brush. Any paint remaining after cleaning may contaminate the paint being used in the next succeeding painting operation. It can also clog the brush and make it less efficient at absorbing and distributing paint after its initial use. As a result, commercial and professional painters often avoid the inconvenience and mess required to clean roller covers, discarding the roller after only one use.
For individual users, cleaning a paint roller by the aforementioned method is an aggravating and time consuming task. Typically, a roller must be cleaned by hand, which is messy and requires cleanup of the sink or basin used to clean the roller. This process takes away time from other tasks or cleaning other supplies. If more than one roller requires cleaning, the task may take even longer. A more efficient means for cleaning paint rollers is needed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Several patents have been granted for devices related to the cleaning of a paint roller. However, these prior art devices have several known drawbacks. Several require the user to make manual contact with the used roller to facilitate the cleaning process. Still others do not provide a means to clean the handle or structure of the roller. The present invention provides a device that cleans both the handle and removable brush of the paint roller without user intervention and without splatter or contamination risk.
Several patents require the user to physically engage the roller brush, separate it from the handle and place it within another device. Fritz, U.S. Pat. No. 4,377,175 is one such device directed to a pair of frustoconical bearings for supporting a paint roller brush and carried within an elongated cylindrical container. One bearing is affixed to a closed end of the container while the other is affixed to a cap detachably securable to the open end. Cleaning fluid is directed toward the applicator from a plurality of orifices spaced along conduits extending longitudinally within the container. The axis of each orifice is at a compound angle to urge the rotation of the applicator and to hold the applicator toward the closed end of the container.
Similarly, Hibberd, U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,152 is directed to a cleaning device for removing water-soluble paint from a paint roller. The roller to be cleaned is placed over a roller holder that is rotatably mounted in a vertical position within a container. A plurality of fan type jets are supported from an inlet water manifold. These fan jets are positionally adjusted to direct a thin wall of water essentially tangent to the paint roller to cause the roller to rotate and to contact rinsing water on every point of the roller surface.
Additionally, Boyd, U.S. Pat. No. 5,935,342 is directed to a paint roller cleaner consisting of a tubular body holding a covered paint roller, along with a traversing nozzle spraying a liquid whereby the roller is cleaned after use.
The Fritz, Hibberd and Boyd inventions all require the cylindrical roller brush to be removed from the handle prior to cleaning. This presents an extremely messy and frustrating process. Further, these devices do not provide a means to clean the handle portion, which remains outside of the device while the roller is attended to. The present invention cleans both the handle and the applicator simultaneously, without the need for disassembly.
Other issued patents do not allow the user to visually inspect the cleaning process to determine completion. Pennise, U.S. Pat. No. 4,809,722 is directed to a paint roller cleaner constructed of a container defining an enclosed internal chamber adapted to receive and contain a paint roller. Further defined is a lid for enclosing the upper end of the container, a drain at the lower end of the container providing a liquid discharge passage, and a water supply conduit arranged to direct a stream of water into the chamber for impingement upon a roller contained therein for cleaning.
Similarly, Shipman U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,066 is directed to a device for performing the controlled cleaning of paint rollers, comprising a housing for containing fluid transport tubing and spray heads for expelling a high pressure spray, which is directed at the sides of said paint roller to produce a spinning and cleaning action. Tubing provides fluid communication through the wall of the lower housing, with a gate valve and female coupling housing supplying fluid to spray heads. A funnel functions to collect and downwardly channel waste fluid, and is mounted inside and just below the top rim of the lower housing with a spout portion pointing downward. This orientation allows for a single stream of waste fluid drainage. Also affixed is an exterior bracket means for supporting the handle portion of the paint roller, horizontally and outside of housing, wherein the roller portion is affixed vertically and inside of housing between two vertical fluid transport tubes comprising spray heads.
Additionally, Brockage U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,626 is directed to an improved cleaner for a paint roller in which the cleaner includes a container having an opening for receiving a paint roller and a groove in a side wall thereof for releasably mounting the handle of the paint roller to the container. The roller is held in a fixed location and struck by water streams from a manifold within the interior of the body. The manifold is connected to a handle outside the container, and is pivotally mounted so that the manifold can rotate through a limited arc to change the angle of impingement of the water streams from the manifold onto the paint roller to be cleaned. The handle of the container body has a serrated structure for releasably locking the paint roller handle to the body of the cleaning device with a manifold in any one of a number of positions. Thus, depending upon the diameter of the roller, the angle of the water streams impinging from the manifold onto the roller to be cleaned can be varied so that paint rollers of different diameters can be accommodated within the apparatus.
The Pennise, Shipman and Brockage devices clean the applicator portion of the paint roller and some portion of the handle. These devices do not allow the user to inspect or observe the cleaning process, and therefore provide no means to determine completion without opening the device. The present invention allows the user to observe the cleaning process through a transparent window mounted along the top surface of the cleaning enclosure. The window is secured to the housing by a hinge and a gasket the surrounds the perimeter of the enclosure opening, wherein the window is placed when in a working position. Additionally, the present invention cleans the entire handle portion of the roller.
Other issued patents, while providing simplicity, require the user to clean the roller while spraying a water supply through and opening. Howe, U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,769 is directed to a paint roller cover cleaning device comprising a drum having a perforated base, a cylindrical sidewall and an open top fitted with a removable lid. The device has a support member for frictionally engaging a paint roller cover rotatably secured to the base of the drum. The cylindrical sidewall has a vertical slot opening that allows the user to direct a pressurized stream of solvent from a nozzle against the outer periphery or nap of the paint roller cover. The Howe device requires the user to direct the cleaning solution and perform the cleaning operation, while the present invention requires no user intervention during the cleaning process.
While other issued patents have introduced devices that attempt to clean a paint roller, none of the prior art devices allow the user to clean the entire paint roller, both the handle and applicator, without user intervention. Further, the prior devices do not allow an easy manner of inspection during the cleaning operation or a means to determine completion of cleaning. There is a need in the art for a cleanly, easy to use device for cleaning entire paint roller assemblies without requiring the user to manually handle or operate any item while operating the device. The present invention fulfills this need by providing a device that cleans a paint roller without manually handling the roller or introducing splatter from the roller paint or fluids used for its cleaning. The present invention substantially diverges in design elements from the prior art and consequently it is clear that there is a need in the art for an improvement to existing paint roller cleaning devices. In this regard the instant invention substantially fulfills these needs.